Lost in Social Media

I've been thinking about writing on this field over the past few weeks as it has become something that I have become more and more aware of. Social media has taken over our lives, whether we accept it or not. Meals can no longer be eaten without being Instagrammed, films cannot be watched without being people notifying Facebook about it, headaches and illnesses cannot be silently gotten over without pouring out someone's downfall all over Facebook, and the notion of private family photo albums have almost been binned with new relationships, engagements, pregnancies and baby baths being put on social media sites for all to see. Before anyone says anything, I know that I am guilty of being caught in the spider-web of social media, the film posting especially - and the very notion that I am writing on a social media site, from which I would advertise the blog on other social media sites, it all seems like one big plate of irony served up on the world wide web. One cannot argue the notion against the impact of social media websites without the aid of social media sites to promote their message. Is there a way around the symposium of peer pressure around social media? Is there a way people can enjoy a walk in their local park or a meal without uploading a photo of it to their profile? Or is it the modern age that we live in now that this has become so natural that we sweep it under the carpet in a silent form of acceptance?

One can argue these points until the cow comes home but one cannot under-estimate the impact of social media. Whether it be in assisting the way celebrities fall from grace quicker than a tonne weight, or the speed in which news headlines spread throughout the world, social networking has brought the world together at the click of a simple button. Or has it? On my travels in recent months and years, it is apparent how reliant we all are on our mobile phones, our tablets, our iPads and laptops. It is also apparent how isolated we all become from others around us through the use of these devices. On the train back from Cambridge not two days ago, I was in a carriage where every single person was so engrossed in their phones or iPads that they not only ignored any form of beauty outside the windows of the train, but also strengthened my worry for the future communicative side of society. Are we too reliant on technology that we forget who we really are? What in modern day terms defines 'popular'? Is it having thousands of friends on Facebook? Is it having a hundred people like a status of yours on Facebook? People can be too caught up in how they are perceived online that they forget how to act face to face with a human being.

On the way to the station to catch the aforementioned train from Cambridge, I passed several restaurants en route, all of which contained couples and families who, instead of talking to one another, were on their phones texting and facebooking. This sight was one of those that hammered home the real influence and effect that social media has had on us as a society with friends and family. This notion of influencing the nature of families is something that I have a strong opinion about. In this case I relate to one of the recent Tetley Tea TV adverts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6Rb-1sub4M

The notion that information published online can be read by anyone and everyone is something that, when it comes to family affairs I believe should be kept a private affair, not plastered over social media. Relationships as well (and I know I have done this in the past but since then learnt my lesson) being posted in every regard - be it lovey dovey, rants or arguments, as well as new relationships, and posting photos of their new born babies every move. It all gets a bit too much to stomach sometimes. Maybe it's just my single side  being cynical, maybe it's the realisation of how much it must have annoyed people whenever I posted ridiculous posts years ago on Facebook regarding relationships. Either way, I don't think Facebook is a place to publicise one's love life, especially not use it as your own family album with your newborns as I believe that should be private. I know that there will be people who will not agree with this and that is their own opinion and I respect that, as this is my own opinion. 

In turn, I understand the importance of social media in the work place and in a having a social life too. Phones and social media websites are tools people cannot be without if they are on the go all the time or have a hectic social schedule to adhere to. It's more the lengths people go to on social media to show that they have this 'life'. We use social media to an exhaustive manner, so much so that for some of us it is the first thing we check before going to bed and waking up. I know this does not relate to everyone but it is becoming increasingly sparse to see a different story from the one I have described above, one of normality without the influence of social media. I leave you all with a quote that has made the rounds on the internet regarding the way in which we try and portray ourselves in society as a whole, by the one and only Tyler Durden from Fight Club:

Jonathan Whitehead

Individual Anarchy vs. 'Terrorism'

In the 21st Century, words such as 'terrorism', 'fear' and 'racism' are thrown about in relation to attacks that threaten our way of life, our social setup, and the way in which we perceive other societies and religions. Social media and newspapers become the spark and catalyst for people to build some form of opposition, riposte, and personal opinions on matters far and wide, whether or not they are soundly backed up or not. The impact of social media is massive, and the influence it can have on individuals perspectives on news stories and events that transcend within society can be monumental as well. Images and stories to tell one side of the story but ensure the part of the story that the government, newspaper or individual does not want the reader or listener to know so as to wholly put their idea across in a somewhat simple, yet manipulative  manner.

Why do I transgress from the recent events in the news and discuss the influence of images and social media instead? I transgress on the basis that this latest tragedy in Woolwich support this reference to the importance of social media in relation to tragedies that happen throughout the world. On the 22nd May 2013, Drummer Lee Rigby was murdered in cold blood in the middle of the day outside a barracks in Woolwich by Michael Adebowale and Michael Adebolajo, individuals who were on the radar of the MI5 but had not been picked up prior to this attack. Was this an attack to get attention for the two individuals alone? Was it an attack to provoke an even larger scaled backlash throughout the United Kingdom against the 'tyranny' of our current governments and society? Or was it an attack that was so extreme, un-calculated  and individualistic that it was just a freak incident one would hope would never be repeated? Whichever the answer and reasoning behind the attack was, they have been criticised and condemned from every corner of society, in the Muslim based communities as well as other British citizens and politicians alike.

This was the first serious 'terror' attack which Britain had encountered since the July bombings of 2005. The backlash and reaction regarding this unprovoked attack, this devastating blow to the family of an innocent war hero have been vast, condemning and emotional. The knowledge that a heart wrenching story such as Lee Rigby's, and the fear that extremists are getting more extreme over the course of time since the attacks on the Twin Towers on the 11th September 2001. The story goes that both of these men grew in their extremist views when they were in jail previously, and as one can only assume, they will try and expose the weaknesses in some of the prisoners once they are in jail for murder so as to spread the fear and extremist manners. The over-loading of provocative and racist posts on Twitter and Facebook were quite staggering in the days following this attack, classing it as a terrorist attack right after news broke out of this murder. This ultimately led to the outcry of extreme news headlines and life stories relating to the individuals involved in the horrific event that unfolded on that fateful May day. The family themselves did not want any unnecessary backlash and that Lee Rigby's death would not be a reason for inexcusable reprisal attacks and that any response would be of a peaceful nature. This reversed desire of the saying 'an eye for an eye' is a mentality that has to respected and admired, especially from the family of the victim of such a horrific circumstances.

In conclusion, I think that it safe to say that this attack was a freak incident which was undertaken by two individuals who have severe mental issues as well as working on their own and not as part of a larger scheme so as to instil and promote havoc, terror and fear throughout the multi-ethnic communities of Woolwich and throughout the rest of the United Kingdom too. However, it is important to always note the important role the media plays in regards to pressing an ideology across to the readers of the newspapers and listeners of the radio in relation to whether an attack is terrorist based or just a case of mentally unstable people taking the law into their own hands so as to become martyrs in their own minds. Nonetheless, it is fundamental that one understands the notion that the colour of a persons skin and fundamental beliefs are always going to alter the way the media would portray the case, as was shown through some of the high cased murder of Stephen Lawrence by white individuals with radical racist tendencies, and the numerous other cases that have been portrayed through the news as attacks of racism and the London bombings being part of a greater 'terror plot' to provoke fear throughout society. What I'm trying to say is that with murder being outright wrong, it is clear that it is not only people of an ethnic nature that are the individuals solely behind hate crime, and that there are extremists in every society, it just so happens that some are more aggressive than the passive individuals.

Jonathan Whitehead